Tape rule



y I R c. NICHOLSON ETAL 2,446,020 I TAPE RULE Filed Dec 9 24, 1943 ATTORNEY Patented July 27, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT op gj TAPE RULE.

Ragnar C. Nicholsonrwhite Plains; and. Nathan H. Schneider; New York; N. Y.', assignors to" Master Rule Manufacturing Inc New York, N. Y., alcorporation of New York; ApplicationDecember 24, 1943, Serial-No. 515514.

6 Claims. (c1. 242-84.9)

This inventionrelates to improvementsin tape rules, and especially in taperules of the type employing a thin flexible graduated steeljbla'de of curved cross-section.

The general object of this invention is toprovide improvements in the features of construction ofsuch rules which simplify the manufacturing and assembly operations and facilitate the repair and replacement of worn parts by the user.

The main feature of importance of this invention from which the other objects. and advantages herein disclosed result, is in the supporting liner andbrake shoe which forms, a substantially frictionless support: for the measuring blade as well as a uide. in assemblingthe casing sections .and a liner for the resulting housing which, in, cooperation with a. brake lever in off position, acts to. sup-portv the measuring blade and which in brake on position locks the blade. in. extended position and. insures against its creeping.

Another object of the; invention is to provide a neat structure of good appearance of such natureas to contribute .to the ease and'accuracy with which the device may be used.

An important object. of the invention is to pro vide a construction of' this type employing an improved. form of braking arrangement for eating the tapein various extendedpositions;

Other. and more detailedobjects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred. embodiment thereof..

This invention resides substantially in the'combination, construction, arrangement and relative location of parts as will be described in detail below.

In, the accompanying drawing;

Figure l is a side elevational view of atape rule. in, accordance. with this invention;

Figure. 2is an inside elevational view of'the device looking towardsthe inner face of the side presented? in'Eigure l, as indicated by theline 2-2 of1Figure 4; as-it appearswhenthe'other' Figure Gis ,a, crossfsectional viewtaken on the line 6-6 of Figure 2. U

As is usual in tape rules of the type disclosed in the attached drawings, the flexible steel tape is stored in the form of a.coil'within ,a suitably shaped. housing. composed. of two-mating parts. Therefore, as illustratedin the drawings; the housing comprises the: two cupglike sections it and H whichare generally of the samecom figuration and construction; exceptfias herein otherwise indicated. The-two case sections are secured'together by means of a screw Ii-which passes through the section II, to" engage. an irrternally threaded post P which". isqimounted -on the other. case sectionl0; Although the-case section II] has been removed in Figure-2, thepost P is shown in this figure in association withthe tape for illustrative purposes. The tape; l3f' isof thin flexible steel of, normally 'curved" cross sec tion suitably graduatedandis-wound into aicojil within thev casing, as illustrated, On-its inner end there isatta'ched, in accordan'ce, with usual practice, a coil spring Whose end in-turn isflanchored' to the post' P so; that as the tape isextended the spring is te nsionedftoaid in return-' ing the graduated'tape back into the housing. This spring as: is usual. is not sufficiently; strong to pull the tape backinto the housing, but does aid. in. its return. thereintojupon' the application of alight pushing force on the projecting end of the tape.

The. side wallsjofltlie. case. sections Inf andflil each have flange sections: of. unequal width. Thisis particularly clear. fromEigu-re l, wherein the wider. flange.- sectionsa l6. and. LT abut to. close, the housing, while the narrower fiangeQsections. l 4. and I 5 provide an. opening throughlwhioh {the adjacent portion of. the. tape I3 is..visible,las, is clear fromEigure 4, while the; edges thereof are guided by theshallow flanges l4; and IS}, The, housing, as is clear, from -Eiguresl and.2, isof generally. rectangularcrossrseotional shape al-.- though it has flatly curved corners-on one diag; ona1,- a-sharp1ycurved -cornerat one. end of the other, and aright anglejcorner atLthe-othenend; of the latter diagonal. The tape 13 passes-from the coil; to one: flatly: curved. corner, as: shown: in Figure 2, runs alongzthatop sidesof," the casing at which the 1 flanges. .I I "and; 1:5. lieggalldr. issues,

from an opening in the casing at the right angle corner, all as is quite clear from Figure 2.

Mounted within the casing on the section ii is a support and brake shoe arm l8 having a right angle extension l9 by means of which it is attached as by spot welding, to the housing section I l by the wider flange [1 thereof, as clearly shown in Figure 5. The result is the formation of a seating and guide shoulder 20 by means of which the flange l6 of the other corner section It is accurately positioned. The arm i8 is supported so to spealg asa cantilever extendinginto the housing underthe tape I3 to form a support for it, as illustrated in Figure 2. The inner free end of the arm 18 is curved so as to have a substantially complementary shape to the adjacent por I tion of the housing, as illustrated at 2|.

quire any modifications of the outer appearance of the housing by way of unsightly tell tale rivets and other fastening devices. The construction is such that the two housing sections can only be assembled in the proper relation, and as they are assembled the parts are guided and brought to the proper seating position without difficulty.

As illustrated in Figure 1, when the outside measurements of an object are to be taken they are taken between the straight face A and the hooked end of the tape 13. The reading, of course, is taken at the point where the tape issues from the ends of the flanges Hi and I5. When an inside measurement is to be taken it is taken beface of the hooked end of the tape. In this case the reading is taken at the arrow C, Figure l,

Pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 22, secured in the casing section I I, is a thumb lever 23 which.

pin 22 is so mounted and the parts are so proportioned that when the thumb lever 23 is rotatedin a counterclockwise direction, Figure 2 (clockwise Figure 3), the cam 24 presses the curved end 21 of the arm l8 outwardly against the lower face of the tape l3 so as to press it firmly against'the inner face of the adjacent flange portions of the housing. It is important to note, as is illustrated in Figure 3, that when the cam 24 is at the lower endof the slot 25 and can go no further, the curvedend 2| of the arm is rests-on it forming a supportat the time the brake is released so that if any undue pressure is applied to the arm I8 it cannot be permanently bent or'distorted.

The flange portion l? of the casing section ill isalso provided with another guide and seating plate 26 which is spot welded on the inner surface of the flange l1 so as to form a seat for the flange l8 of the casing section In and an indexing or positioning shoulder 21, all as illustrated in Figure 6.' Thus in' assembling the two housing sections the section II] fits over the plates [9 and 26 so as to guide'the two parts together in accurate relation and greatly aid in their assembly.

It will be seen that the graduated tape I3 is guided on the inside of the housing and supported at its under surface by the supporting arm [8 and guided at its upper surface by means of the shallow flanges l4 and I5. The flanges l4 and [5 are continuous as distinguished from some prior art devices, thereby facilitating assembly, minimizing wear on the graduated edges of the tape, and improving the finished appearance of the device. The supporting arm l3, it will be noted, acts as a liner for a substantial portion of the housing when its sections are in assembled relation as well as a guide in facilitating the final assembly of theparts. It also acts as a support for the measuring blade both in locked and in unlocked position of the locking device. In unlocked position of the locking device the lock cam is engaged by this supporting liner to prevent its inward displacement against undue pressure thus insuring against damage of the structure in use. With the brake in unlocked position this liner acts as a nearly frictionless support for the measuring blade as it is movedout of and into the casing.

A valuable commercial feature of the structure herein disclosed is foundin the fact that the interior construction of the device does notrewhich is at the point where the tape first enters the enlarged opening between the flanges l4 and bodiment of this invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the subject matter comprising the novel features thereof may be embodied in other physical forms, and we do not therefore desire to be strictly limited to the disclosure given herein but rather by the scope of the claims granted us.

What is claimed is:

1. A housing for a tape rule comprising a pair of similarly shaped flanged sections each having a flat side, the flanges of said sections extending around the periphery thereof but respectively having relatively narrow portions at the flat sides to form an opening in the casing through which the tape issues tangentially at the end thereof, and at which it is exposed, guide plates secured to the flange of one section on the inner face thereof and projecting beyond the flange edge to form a guide seat for the flanges of the other section, one of said guide plates underlying the tape at said opening to form a guide for said tape, and means for securing said sections together.

.2. A tape rule of the type described comprising a housing having a graduated tape coiled therein and issuing from an opening in the housing, a cantilever arm attached to the casing adjacent said opening and extending parallel to the wall along which the tape extends to said opening, said tape lying between the casing wall and arm so that the arm forms a support therefor, and a brake member mounted on said casing and engaging the free end of said cantilever arm for gripping the tape between the arm and the housing fora substantial portion of the tape length.

3. In the combination of claim 2, said casing comprising a pair of complementary flanged parts and the supporting end of said arm forming a guide for said parts to hold the flanges in abutting relation.

4. A tape rule of t e type described comprising a housing composed of two complementary flanged parts forming a closed housing when assembled with the flanges abutting and having a tape exit opening, a graduated tape coiled in said housing and projecting through said opening, a cantilever arm lying on the under side of said tape and secured at one end to the flange of one of saidhousing parts at said opening, the other end of said arm being free and said tape extending from the coil through the passage formed between the arm and the adjacent portion of the housing for a substantial distance, and

a brake pivotally mounted on the'housing and engaging the free end of said arm to grip the tape between the housing and said lever. REFERENCES CITED 5. In the combination of laim 4, aid tape The following references are of record. in the coil being attalfihed to the other housing part. file of this patent:

6. A tape r e according to claim 4, character- 5 ized in that said cantilever arm projects beyond UNITED STATES PATENTS said housing flange to which it is attached and Number N me Date forms a guide and seat for the other housing 671, 90 Creasey Apr..9, 1901 part. 1,233,034 Crogan July 10, 1917 RAGNAR C. NICHOLSON. 10 1,992,947 Hayward Mar. 5, 1935 NATHAN H. SCHNEIDER, 2,016,483 Carlson Oct. 8, 1935 

